University of California Researchers Discover Sorbent that Boosts Microbial Ethanol Production

Biofuel manufacturers rely on acid treatments to break down plant material to extract sugars for biofuel production. However, the process generates sugar solutions contaminated with 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and other furanics, which are toxic to the fermenting microbes and limit their efficiency. They are also tough to separate from sugar solutions.

The research team of led by Alexander Katz of the University of California, Berkeley, may have developed a way to separate furanics from the sugars. The group found that NU-1000, a metal-organic framework compound with pyrene linkers, traps furanics but leaves sugars alone.

The team tested the sorbent in a solution in which the glucose concentration was 300 times as great as that of HMF, NU-1000 trapped 80% of the HMF without any traces of glucose.